The 19^th Hole

April 24, 2007

Not a Big Deal

Hey, did you hear the news?  Phil Mickelson has a new golf teacher!  Yeah, really!  Rick Smith – and his Ford emblazoned turtlenecks – are out and Butch Harmon – the Tiger Woods reject – is in as Lefty’s golf teacher.  The controversy began months ago when we found out that Phil had been working with Harmon on some components of his game beginning with the Accenture Match Play event.  At least, Phil was telling the media and probably Smith that it was only part of his game.

Then Butch showed up at Doral for the CA Championship to work with Mickelson.  Lefty said that Harmon was just going to be there for him when Rick Smith and his services were not available.  And now, according to Tim Rosaforte over at Golf World, it will apparently become a full-time relationship starting next week at the Byron Nelson.

My question to you, as a golf fan, is who cares?  Does it really matter all that much to most golf fans as to whether or not Lefty uses Harmon, Smith, or an instructional video from Bob Barr as his teacher?  I do not think it really much matters to the common golf fan.

I’m not even sure that it really matters much to the players on Tour.  The only Tour player for whom this news might matter is Tiger Woods.  After all, El Tigre won eight of his twelve major championships with Harmon as his instructor.  Certainly, Woods has moved onto the services of Hank Haney, who was recommended to Woods by his best buddy Mark O’Meara.

If you replaced the names of the professionals and instructors in this story, it really begins to sound more like a dating saga than a story of professional intrigue.  It reads like a situation in which Guy A used to date Girl A, but then dumped her for Girl B.  Guy B is already dating Girl C, but has had his eye on Girl A for a long time.  He is a decent guy, so he does not want to break Girl C’s heart by going for Girl A so quickly after she becomes available.  Eventually, though, Guy B gives Girl C her walking papers and phones up Girl A – who knew the phone call was coming and what her answer would be to his advances.

Following that hypothetical story, I’m not interested in anything having to do with golf instructors or love pentagons.  The reason for the story being important is because it has to do with Phil Mickelson.  Mickelson has not been the same in the majors since the meltdown at the 2006 US Open.  Smith helped Mickelson to develop the cut shot that made him more accurate with the driver which led him to three majors in the last three years. 

Mickelson wanted more, though.  He wanted a power draw that would allow him to continue to be aggressive as a complementary shot.  Smith could not teach it to him – or Mickelson didn’t want to learn it from him – and ever since, Lefty has not sniffed the lead in three majors.  In the eyes of many fans and most of the media, Mickelson has once again resumed the hallowed position of the loveable loser who is trying to find the answers to get into the glory.  This now official move from Rick Smith to Butch Harmon is just the latest in what is the new old quest for Mickelson: getting people off of his back and win.

It will take some time to see if the work with Harmon pays dividends for Mickelson.  Even if Mickelson wins between now and the US Open, that will not stop the media from hounding Lefty.  The only way Lefty will be able to gain some measure of the reverence that he lost at Winged Foot is to exact his revenge from a potentially tougher Oakmont course in this year’s US Open.  Probably then, and only then, will this move pay off in the eyes of the fans, the media, and Mickelson.  Just in case Mickelson does not turn it around with Harmon, Lefty may want to keep Rick Smith’s number in his cell phone – and maybe the number of a good florist.

Ryan Ballengee is host of The 19th Hole Golf Show, found at The Golf Newsnet.com.  Having graduated from the University of Maryland in 2004 and 2006, Ballengee brings the perspective of the younger golf fan to the microphone and his columns.  Over the nearly five years he has been broadcasting and writing, Ballengee has developed a reputation for a unique interviewing style that asks both the difficult and fun questions. You can also get The 19th Hole on the go through podcasting by clicking here The Golf Newsnet Contact Ryan via e-mail at the19thholeshow@hotmail.com.